The Government is launching a targeted response to control a meningococcal outbreak in Northland, after a new strain killed three people.
"The advice from clinical experts is that MenW has reached outbreak levels in Northland and we should urgently launch an immunisation programme to prevent further spread of the disease," Minister of Health David Clark said today.
The new strain, MenW, has seen 29 people contract the disease in New Zealand (more than twice as many as in 2017) this year, including seven in Northland.
"MenW strain has a high mortality rate and tragically has killed three people Northland this year."
The Ministry of Health considered introducing the vaccine for the new strain earlier this month, according to the Northern Advocate.
"There is strong international demand for the MenW vaccine, which is in short supply," Mr Clark says.
"Pharmac and the Ministry of Health have done well to source 20,000 dose. The first batch of 10,000 doses will arrive in New Zealand next week and the remainder a few weeks later," Dr Clark said.
The vaccinations will be rolled out to Northland residents aged nine months to four-years-old, and 13-19-year-olds.
"Research shows that vaccinating these two age groups is the best way to reduce the spread of meningococcal disease across the entire Northland community. This helps to protect everybody, even if they don’t qualify for the free vaccination."
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